Checking it Twice - Favorite Records of the Year

Dec 14, 2004

Itâ€™s listmaking time, and Iâ€™ve got three of them for you. The list of
my favorite records of the year ranges from the nearly universally
praised (Arcade Fire, Madvillain), to the underrated (Cee-lo), to the
unknown (Flashpapr).

As for pop and hip-hop, Iâ€™m focusing on what it continues to do best,
which is singles, not records. If you read my article yesterday, you
know that I donâ€™t think it was a particularly exciting or adventurous
year for popular music. But even if it wasnâ€™t a great year as a whole,
there were plenty of spectacular songs. My ten favorite are below, and
some of you may be scandalized to see that Britney, Maroon 5, and
(gasp!) even Ashlee made the list. But these are great songs, not
guilty or ironic pleasures, so even if youâ€™re allergic to commercial
radio, listen exclusively to NPR, do your best to shield yourself from
the corrupting influence and soullessness of mass cultureâ€”even if all
those things are true, give them a listen, because theyâ€™re brilliant.

Lastly, since this column is all about downloads, Iâ€™ve included a list
of my 25 favorite free mp3s of the year. Devoted readers have probably
downloaded them all already, but for the rest of you, itâ€™s a nice
little mixtape of some of the yearâ€™s best music.

Top Ten Records
1. â€œCherry Tree EP,â€ The National
A near perfect EP, both delicate and ruggedâ€”like a beaten and battered
but very butch butterfly. Profoundly moving, but without any big
emotional gestures, any trace of sentimentality. I expect great things
from this band.
2. â€œFuneral,â€ the Arcade Fire
Passionate, unashamed, and bold, arranged with precision and performed
with joyful, sloppy fervor. A record worthy of all the hype.
3. â€œReal Gone,â€ Tom Waits
It all started with Waits beatboxing into a tape recorder in his
bathroomâ€”how badass is thatâ€”and out comes this clanging, clattering run
down steamroller of a record, welcome proof that Tom isnâ€™t losing his
edge. His best in over a decade.
4. â€œFlashpapr,â€ Flashpapr
A hushed, retiring record, all muted sounds melted together, evoking a
delicate sweet/sad emotion.
5. â€œMadvillain,â€ Madvillain
The best of underground hip-hop in 2004, with Madlibâ€™s lush, gently
counter-intuitive beats, and MF Doomâ€™s hypnotic dream logic raps.
6. â€œLa Maison de Mon Reve,â€ Cocorosie
The atmosphere piece of the year, a cloistered, rainy day reverie of a
record made in a Parisian apartment by two sisters with the voices of
mournful, aged cats.
7. â€œCee-lo Green Is The Soul Machine,â€ Cee-lo
Itâ€™s a mystery that Cee-lo, one of the great producers and rappers in
todayâ€™s hip-hop scene, not to mention hands down the best singer, has
yet to achieve greater success. An up and down record, but with some of
the highest highs of the year, including brilliant tracks from
Timbaland and the Neptunesâ€”although the best were produced by Cee-lo
himself.
8. â€œRejoicing In the Hands,â€ Devendra Banhart
A legend in the making, the charismatic, enigmatic young songwriter is
the locus of a burgeoning new folk movement. His perfect miniatures are
by turns profound, naÃ¯ve, mystifying, and almost always touching.
9. â€œAbattoir Blues/ The Lyre of Orpheus,â€ Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
The songwriting record of the year, an extraordinary display by a
master of the craft, the poetry all banged out and burnished, and
shining with the kind of workmanship that only obsessive drive combined
with genius can achieve.
10. â€œMisery Is A Butterfly,â€ Blonde Redhead
The most cerebral of bands gives in to long repressed romantic urges
and creates a dark, cinematic beauty.
Honorable mentions: â€œMedulla,â€ Bjork; â€œNot Going Anywhere,â€ Keren Ann;
â€œDesperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes,â€ TV On the Radio; â€œHeroes To
Zeroes,â€ the Beta Band; â€œThe College Dropout,â€ Kanye West, â€œUh Huh
Her,â€ PJ Harvey.